MML Investors Services LLC Buys 80,203 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 107.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 155,173 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 80,203 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $28,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 104.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,233,907 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $11,142,122,000 after buying an additional 31,281,359 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 87.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,382,116 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,611,013,000 after buying an additional 6,725,148 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at about $970,736,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 83.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,427,062 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,533,419,000 after acquiring an additional 3,841,359 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 83.0% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,759,689 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,048,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,612,474 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on PANW shares. UBS Group raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, HSBC upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $203.06.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.22, for a total value of $126,854.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 47,976 shares in the company, valued at $8,694,210.72. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 99,707 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.45, for a total transaction of $18,191,542.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 358,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,353,042.65. The trade was a 21.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,039,318 shares of company stock worth $181,925,602. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW traded up $4.69 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $168.32. 4,922,452 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,832,853. The company's fifty day moving average is $178.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.75. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $140.81 and a fifty-two week high of $208.39. The stock has a market cap of $111.44 billion, a PE ratio of 94.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.07.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24 billion. Research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. It also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.